Monday, April 4, 2016

RIP Don Francks



Canadian actor and singer Don Francks died of lung cancer in Toronto, Canada on April, 3, 2016. He was 84. Born Donald Harvey Francks in Vancouver, BC, Canada on February 28, 1932, he was a young jazz musician and vocalist, drove east to Toronto and starred in a host of 1950s CBC TV specials. He later moved to New York City, where he performed in the 1960s at the Blue Angel and recorded a live album at the Village Vanguard.

His acting career got started with the CBC in 1954 as a regular on Burns Chuckwagon From the Stampede Corral, a Western-themed series with musical artists, and other Canadian shows such as Riding High and The Adventures of Tugboat Annie. In the 1960s, he also guest starred on classic U.S. TV series including The Wild Wild West, The Virginian and Ben Casey, and played the role of U.S. Army captain Franklin Sheppard on the short-lived 1966 drama Jericho. Francks appeared in the German/Canadian co-produced TV Euro-western “Blauvogel” (Bluehawk) as Captain Savard.

2 comments:

  1. Biltmore: Didn't make the Toronto news. Two other collectors I know had to learn of it from here or the internet. Sad.

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  2. Yes I've seen obits for L.A. based actors in the Guardian or Telegraph in London but nothing in the L.A. Times until days later or sometimes never.

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